How to Avoid Being Late

Co-authored by Zach Pontrello

Last Updated: November 30, 2022 Fact Checked

Tired of showing up late to different places and events? It's never fun being tardy—but luckily, there's a lot that you can do to improve your timeliness. We've put together plenty of tips and tricks to help you get started. With enough focus and dedication, your days of being late will be a thing of the past.

1

Give yourself enough time to get ready.

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If you have an early appointment, prepare the night before by getting your clothes ready and making sure that everything you need, such as car keys and cell phone, is ready to go.^{[1]
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2

Don't give yourself permission to be late.

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You may think that it's just a few minutes, but tardiness is a habit that often gets worse, and the minutes will grow. Therefore, take tardiness seriously and recognize that it is a bad habit that should not be excused.^{[2]
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3

Allow ample time for your journey.

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Always add enough time for travel delays and other problems that could crop up, such as finding parking or getting lost if you are heading out to an unfamiliar destination.^{[3]
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4

Avoid overextending yourself.

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By doing this, you are setting yourself up to being late. If you do have more than one meeting at a time, then make sure that you schedule enough time in between so that you can travel from one to another without rushing or risking being late.^{[4]
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5

Refrain from accepting invites to events you can't make.

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On the day of the event, you will be forced to follow through on the invite, and you will most likely be late and upset the person you are meeting. It's better to decline the invitation and risk disappointing the person, than risking offending them by being late.

6

Always give yourself more time than you need to get there.

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For example, if you have to go to a wedding that starts at 5:00 and you know it takes 20 minutes to get there,leave at 4:30. You WILL get there on time!^{[5]
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Expert Q&A

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Question

How can I improve my time management skills?

Zach Pontrello
Embodied Leadership & Relationship Coach
Zach Pontrello is an Embodied Leadership & Relationship Coach and the Founder of One Thought Growth & Sovereign Man Academy. His expertise lies in helping people build better relationships with themselves and with their partners, focusing on communication and honesty. Zach received his degree from John Carroll University.

Zach Pontrello

Embodied Leadership & Relationship Coach

Expert Answer

The first step is sitting down with yourself and tracking your current schedule and time blocks. How long is your commute every day? How long are you working? How long are you at the gym? It helps to write down everything down so you can get a good idea of your schedule and see if anything needs to be removed from it. From there, start making a daily checklist so you know exactly what you want to get done. At the end of each day, review the checklist and see what you did and did not complete.

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What if you are already late?

Community Answer

Apologize and think of a better plan for next time, so you can prevent the same mistake happening again.

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Tips

Set your clock forward by an odd number of minutes. (Setting back by 10 or 15 minutes is too easy to calculate instantly). For example, if the real time is 10.10, change yours to 10.17. This way, you think you have less time than you do.

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Empathize with the person who is waiting for you. Even if it is not intentional, it is not fun to be kept waiting. If you put yourself in the position of the person waiting for you, you will better gain a sense of urgency and try harder to avoid being tardy.

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Warnings

Recognize that tardiness, especially consistent tardiness, is a trait that illustrates your lack of respect for others. It also suggests that you think that you are more important than those who are waiting for you. Ultimately this arrogant nature will eventually create feelings of animosity from the people who you consistently keep waiting.

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On the flip side, your tardiness may be illustrating lack of self-esteem. Perhaps you think that your presence doesn't really matter. If that were true, why were you included in the planning/invitations? They want you there, so don't disappoint them.

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